April 2015 – Page 3 – Blue Collar Red Lipstick

24
Apr
2015

Weekend Shortlist

Currently Wishful Thinking About: A New Dressing Table

I have been wanting a proper, ladylike dressing table for years and, guys, it’s finally going to happen. We are re-doing our bedroom at the moment (I’m using the royal “we” since I am doing about 0.5% of the work), and one of the (many) awesome results of that will be room for the white, neoclassical dressing table of my dreams. Too bad I can’t say the same about the budget. So, I’ll be consoling myself with this version instead:

Currently Loving: Equipment Butterfly Print Blouse

I saw this at Holt Renfrew a while back, but didn’t feel like shelling out $150+ (on sale!) for a sleeveless blouse. But the print! Butterfly prints (like florals, and bird prints) are my Achilles’ heel. I went back to check on the price situation and, of course, the blouse was long gone. I’m going to keep an eye out for this one at Winners over the next 2-3 months, and hope the retail gods are kind.

Currently Hunting: Topshop Slim Curve Blazer

I spotted my co-worker wearing this blazer, and she looked phenomenal in it so … me wanty. Me wanty a lot. I don’t currently have a light coloured blazer in my closet, and I like the modern cut and colour of this one. Naturally, it is out of stock at The Bay. EBay to the rescue? To be continued …

Currently Reading: This ‘n That

I’m still reading my way through Italian Days, and waiting on a big Amazon order – so, nothing new on the book front. I have recently(ish) discovered some awesome blogs, so I thought I’d share those with you instead.

Xin’s posts at Invincible Summer are always insightful, thought-provoking, and well written, whether on style, consumerist culture and minimalism, personal finance, or figuring out the post-university world.

Alissa at The Adored Life is the definition of, well, adorable, and her style is cute and relatable at the same time.

And if you’re not already reading My Three Angles, you need to start, immediately. I’m not going to spoil one of the best satire blogs on the Internet by telling you more about it, but believe me when I say that you need it in your (blog-reading) life.

Currently Obsessing Over: Commander Snow and the Return of Jaqen H’ghar

I am beyond excited to watch these two story lines unfold, because I love their equivalent arcs in the book. I never really got into Arya’s story until she went to Braavos and began her apprenticeship with the Faceless Men; the addition of Jaqen H’ghar to the mix is brilliant. It will be interesting to see how fast this arc runs on the show, since Dance of Dragons ended before we got to the payoff – we may get it sooner than later. Similarly, I am almost certain that the show will outpace the books on the Wall/Castle Black front given that Jon has already been elected Commander, and they’ve dispensed with a bunch of subplots. So, unless they reeeeeally drag things out, we will see what happens after …

>>>>SPOILER<<<<

>>>>YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED<<<<

>>>>THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE<<<<

… Jon’s Ides of March moment. I have my ideas – GoT book readers, how about you?

22
Apr
2015

The Hi Low Remix

categories: Favourite things, style

3.1 Phillip Lim silk pleated navy dress — Dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim; cardigan, J. Crew Factory; belt, H&M; shoes, Nine West; bag, YSL (via eBay)

Is the whole hi-low mixing thing still, well, a thing? I hope so, because I feel like I totally nailed it with this outfit. The dress, bag, and my coat (which you can’t see here, but is my camel MaxMara workhorse) are tres, tres expahnsiv, even with the sizeable gift card that went towards their purchase. On the other hand, the shoes, cardigan, and belt? The very definition of affordable fashion. The whole look together? One of my favourite outfits of the year. Writing a post in question format? Probably more amusing to me than you. (My standards for amusement are low to nonexistent.)

Think you could guess the total out-of-pocket cost of his outfit just by looking at it? We haven’t had some fun with wardrobe statistics in a while, so feel free to play along at home. I can offer you no prize for getting the right number, but you have my blessing to toast yourself with a glass of wine or other beverage/snack of your choice.

Ready?

Ok, so the total retail cost was approximately $3,670 – say it with me, “holy s**t!!!” – and my out-of-pocket cost was $890.* All I can say is: Thank God for eBay and generous gift cards. You’ll be happy to hear that the current Cost-Per-Wear of this outfit is a fairly reasonable $62.74 … not a bad price for feeling like a fancy fance for a day. Which goes to show – spending big bucks on the things you wear most, and that last the longest (like coats and bags) is the way to get the most bang for them bucks. With that said, I don’t know if anyone else thought I looked fancy or just, you know, plain old “nice”, which also goes to show that the main benefit of “investing” in expensive clothes is nothing more tangible than the confidence boost you’ll get out of them.

Have you ever tallied the cost of the outfits you wear? What is looking good for 10 hours a day “worth” to you?

* Technically, the total should be $830, because the shoes were a gift; I included them in the calculations so that the totals would reflect the cost of the entire outfit.

21
Apr
2015

April Flowers

categories: Uncategorized

Rachel Roy floral pansy dress — Dress, RACHEL Rachel Roy (via eBay); belt, H&M; cardigan, J. Crew; shoes, Zara

Eagle-eyed readers will recognize this print: I have 3 versions of it in my closet. What can I say, I really like it. This dress is ever so slightly too girly for my current tastes, but I still enjoy wearing it. And if I’m gonna go that route, I might as well double down on the twee factor, with the blush pink and the ruffles and the sparkly shoes – everything but the belt, which is a little bit badasss. Just a smidge. Still, this is definitely more Taylor than Rihanna. I’m okay with that. (I’m also OK with admitting that, as an almost 35-year old, the first album I bought in 5 years was 1989. And you better believe I’m blasting it on my commute every day.)

If my hair situation was not a dead giveaway, let me tell you: this was a windy day. I wore a coat, because I’m occasionally practical like that, but didn’t manage to get a single decent photo of it.

Did I mention this dress has pockets? Did I also mention my sparkly shoes? Well, here’s a close-up you didn’t ask for:

Did I mention it was windy? You know the drill.

Month: April 2015